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unHeard

It is a truth universally acknowledged that humanity often finds lies easier to believe than truth. -Audrey Frank The sun had set and it was time for salat-al-maghrib. The prayer rugs had been carefully laid out to face Mecca, the Islamic city which is revered and honored as the holiest city in the religion of Islam and the central place of prayer for Muslims. Seven-year-old Areefa stood quietly beside her mother, listening for instruction. Today… Read More

unWorthy

It is a truth universally acknowledged that humanity often finds lies easier to believe than truth.-Audrey Frank Some lies seem to be written on hearts in permanent ink, graffitied in different languages across cultures and continents, yet all meaning the same. unWorthy. unLoveable. unSeen. unHeard. unKnown. unClean. unDefended.  At The Truth Collective, we are seeking to uncover the lies and help people believe what is True. We are proud to unveil our latest project, the… Read More

When You Are Tested on the Very Truth You Declare, Part Two

To read Part One of When You Are Tested on the Very Truth You Declare, click here.  Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.Luke 22:31-32 There is a time in the walk of discipleship when we are tested on the very truth we declare, the promises that liberated us. The… Read More

When You Are Tested on the Very Truth You Declare, Part One

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.Luke 22:31-32 When we are tested on the very truth we declare, we really should not be surprised, but we often are. I wasn’t thinking about this on the day I met Hamida. She had traveled for days from the desert to reach our… Read More

Like My Father

For my only true Father in heaven on Father's Day God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.Genesis 1:27 We all have a Father, and we were made to look like Him. When we know who He is, we will know who we are. It was almost Halloween, and my mother asked me to climb up in the attic to find the… Read More

Honor Outcry: What Racial Outrage Reveals About the Human Heart

for Erick George Floyd, you were caught trying to buy a pack of cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill, according to the news reports. As you placed that bill on the counter in hopes of getting one more drag from a cigarette you had no idea you stood on the razor-fine edge of a precipice, your life an inflection point for an entire nation. You had no clue you would soon ignite an honor outcry.… Read More

Hope That Does Not Put Us to Shame

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.Romans 5:5 There is a hope that does not put us to shame. Love, at its heart, is about hope. Hope that we might be valued enough by others to be loved by them. Without hope, there could be no love. How interesting that Romans 5:5 embeds this… Read More

Smartphones, Snapchat, and Shame

All day long I feel humiliated and am overwhelmed by shame.Psalm 44:15 Like a flood that creeps in overnight, flowing under doors and rising over baseboards, shame has come into our hearts and homes, invading the privacy of our most personal dwelling places. The introduction of smartphones and social media has brought convenience and benefit to our lives. We can now take passport photos on our phones and get them the same day at the… Read More

Save Your Photos Day: When Shame Blots You Out of the Picture

thanks, Edie Look towards him and shine with joy; no longer hang your heads in shame.Psalm 34:5, New English Bible Hello, readers. I am breaking tradition today and sending you this post a day early. According to the National Day Calendar, today is Save Your Photos Day. In a recent conversation with a friend, I was reminded of the power of shame to blot out our faces, to erase the photos where we once smiled… Read More

Emotional Temptation

Come down from the cross (Matthew 27:40). We don’t often think of Calvary in terms of the emotional temptation of Jesus. But if we listen closely to those insulting dagger words thrown at Jesus by the chief priests, teachers of the law and elders, we will recognize the voice of the deceiver. Just as he challenged Jesus’ lordship in the wilderness during the famous temptation recounted in Matthew 4, he can be heard in the… Read More